Prior preparation…

Fortunately for AAAA members, the association has produced an Emergency Response Plan that will fulfil the requirements and which only requires a business owner to fill in the obvious blanks, such as contact numbers.

The AAAA ERP also helps companies clarify their emergency systems and chain of command, ranging from who in the company assumes control in an emergency and who can talk to the media, to immediate actions required for first response.

Importantly, the AAAA ERP broadens the emergency response focus to not only consider aircraft emergencies, but also vehicle, fire and a range of other potential workplace accidents.

A considerable amount of workplace health and safety compliance activity – and cost – has centred around what often appears as trivial and bureaucratic.

The WH&S law is so voluminous partly because government sees regulation as the main way it is able to respond to workplace injuries and deaths – and coroners’ reports. While there is a strong argument to be made in favour of influencing culture over never-ending prescription, the reality is that nothing will spur government to action quicker than an industry, sector or individual company that just doesn’t seem to care.

The challenge for all Australian companies is to put into place emergency plans that not only look good on paper, but have actually been tested by way of a regular drill or emergency exercise.

Many small businesses in Australia would be severely challenged by having to respond to an emergency, let alone being resilient enough to move to the recovery phase once the immediate threat has been managed.

It is mere pretence to kid yourself that ‘it will all be right on the day’ when it comes to emergency planning. Being able to fall back on already practised emergency actions and systems is critical when people – you and your staff – are under pressure or even personal physical threat.

We practice emergency responses when we are in aircraft from almost the first time we start to learn to fly – and yet many aviation businesses don’t apply that same principle of professionalism to how their company might respond to an emergency.

Apart from getting the thinking, risk assessment and emergency SOPs in place, company owners should look at improving links with local emergency services, including hosting training days that provide aviation-specific advice to non-aviation emergency personnel.

AAAA members have regularly held such events over the years and the benefits have been significant – and not just for emergency preparedness. Communities value companies that take their safety and emergency responsibilities seriously, and a training day that gets coverage in local media is another great way of spelling out that aviation companies are run by professionals.

In these days of Twitter and Facebook, emergencies, threats and responses take on a whole new dimension in terms of how they might be reported to the wider world – and to clients.

Having a plan in place for how an aviation company might respond to the almost inevitable social media coverage and commentary on any emergency – regardless of whether it ends badly or not – should be a part of sensible strategic and emergency planning. A starting point can simply be to ask – ‘do we have anyone on staff who uses social media?’ – and to consider how you project your company into that media space.

Training may be required – or at least advice from someone’s teenagers. . .

How your company handles an emergency will reflect directly onto your reputation and how both the community and clients perceive you. Public relations handbooks are littered with the wrecks of company reputations that got it wrong in an emergency.

Risk management is at the heart of sound emergency planning and this remains a very transferable tool across all aspects of a business – from risk to reputation to financial risk. Unlike much government mandated activity, emergency planning and exercises are valuable tools that can add directly to your bottom line – through harm minimisation, rapid recovery and enhanced reputation.

If you already have an emergency response plan in place and documented, as one might expect from professional aviation companies, then you are ahead of the regulatory game and you simply need to check to ensure you have covered all that is required.

If, however, you are still at the stage of ranting at government for introducing yet another demand on your business, perhaps you need to step back and consider what that is saying about your safety culture